Man, this little guy has my heart. It seems like yesterday I was holding his tiny body in my arms, spending my evenings rocking him to sleep. These days he pretends to be Spider-Man and fights Darth Vader in ominous battles filled with explosions and chase scenes.
Today was one of his last days of preschool. He performed in the end-of-year recital and of course, was the class ham. Singing the loudest, clapping the loudest. I sometimes wonder where he inherited his extrovert personality. Certainly not from his parents. Last night we went to the welcome reception at the school he will be attending full-time come August. Jamming his face full of cookies and gazing in wonderment at the art projects his future classmates hung on the walls. I watch him in this new setting, a setting that for me as a child would have frightened me. He thrives in them…embraces them.
He explains to me how brave he is. Not because he is conceited or arrogant. He has no understanding of those traits yet. He has been told this by someone he loves, and he truly believes it. Sometimes it scares me — how brave he is.
While roaming the new hallways, looking at the art projects, he was full of questions last night. “Is that a pirate ship mommy?” “What is that guy doing?” “Why is his mouth drawn like that?” “Where are his eyes?” “Can we go to the classroom?” It went on and on…his mind in full exploration mode.
Lately, he has been singing along to the songs we play in the car, and yesterday he requested I play only german songs. Der kuckuck und der esel, die hatten einen streit, wer wohl am besten sänge…and there were more questions in the car, “Mommy, do you have both hands on the steering wheel?” “Are we going too fast?” “Is that water tower moving?” “Why did that guy honk at you?” “Why is this road so bumpy?” “What did that sign say?” “Can we listen to the Hamster Dance song now?” Boy, do I regret adding that song to his iPod playlist.
My love, every day I see small glimpses into your world. A world that is growing bigger, for a bigger boy. I look forward to the time I get to spend with you. To listen to you. To play with you. To share with you. I love you, my dear sweet boy. You make me feel like a sweepstakes winner.
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